Selecting a jury by pulling a name out of a hat and hoping for the best is just not the way to successfully litigate a case. We all know that painstaking research and preparation is what it takes to be successful.
You don’t want a victim of a violent crime or a strong advocate for the death penalty on a jury panel when you are defending a murder suspect. You don’t want people with doctorate degrees or law enforcement experience on a jury panel in cases involving complex evidence or expert witness testimony against your client. The people who are selected to sit on the jury panel will be the ultimate decision makers determining if your client is innocent or guilty and if you do not take the time to ensure a good jury panel to hear your case, you have already put a negative strike against your chance of winning.
When dealing with a jury, attorneys must remember that lay persons almost always see the cases differently than lawyers do. Facts and evidence that the attorney feels are crucial to his or her case may not mean anything to the jury panel. Making assumptions about how the jury will react or decide upon an issue without research and information is more often wrong than right. People’s personal life experiences or morals and beliefs may cause them to have a totally different reaction to evidence than what most people would assume and knowing this information before trial is often the difference between a solid and strong victory and a crushing, humiliating defeat.
Some of the jury consulting services include:
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Extensive case analysis focusing on the issues that jurors are most likely to notice and place emphasis on.
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Observation of jurors including but not limited to body language, reaction to information and general behavior in the courtroom.
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Voir dire questions directed to get the most information from a prospective juror in a short amount of time.
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Jury questionnaires devised to learn as much as possible about the potential juror’s life experiences, political beliefs, religions beliefs, views about the justice system and ethical and moral beliefs.
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Juror background research
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Jury profiling
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Opening argument assessments
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Community Attitude Surveys in the jurisdiction of the case to see what the general assumption of that geographical area is on such matters.
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Coordination of mock trial & mock jury panel
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Focus group coordination and research providing information from various individuals outside of the legal system and insight as to how a “lay person” might view issues in the case.
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Analysis of media impact on case / providing information on the amount of media exposure a case has endured and how that exposure has effected people’s perception of the case.
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Case strength and weakness evaluation
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Opening and closing statement analysis
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Trial progress evaluation
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Post trial juror interviews to see what influenced the jurors to make the decision in the case. This information is helpful for future cases of the same nature.
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Witness assessment research
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Witness preparation consultation
